Today's web links: On night football, rivalries & more

By Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, 4 years ago

Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

Today's web links: On night football, rivalries & more

By Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, 4 years ago

The cry for November night games seems to be gaining steam. Oh, they are coming. Could the sacrosanct Michigan-Ohio State ever be played at night? Buckeye athletic director Gene Smith is against it. Me, too. But, heck, I’m against all night games. “It’ll be noon,” Smith told reporters at the recent Big Ten meetings. “I have to be open to 3:30, but noon is my favorite time for that one.”

So, bottom line: Don’t expect the Michigan-Ohio State game to start any later than 3:30 p.m. ET—until, of course, the money becomes so great that they move it to 8 p.m. ET and everyone says it’s a “great idea.”

Tradition has no chance vs. money. Nothing does.

When the 2014 Big Ten football schedule is released—expected to be today—look for parity-based scheduling for cross-division games. Read on.

But beware: Penn State athletic director Dave Joyner cautioned on Tuesday at the Big Ten athletic director meetings in Chicago that what looks attractive now might not turn out so well in the future.

“If you look at cycles, where one team sits in one decade, they may not sit in the next decade,” Joyner said. “You have to be careful thinking this is an all and forever thing

“You continue to try to adjust. You try to make it interesting for the fans.”

“I was more concerned losing Iowa than Michigan State, and we have had great games with Michigan State,” Badgers athletic director Barry Alvarez said at Tuesday’s Big Ten athletic director spring meetings.

“The proximity, a three-hour drive to Iowa City for our fans and their fans, was very convenient,” he said. “Even Northwestern, more so than Michigan State; and I think about our fans first.

“It’s all about proximity. How easy it is for someone to drive, or to get to a location, is more important.”

Alvarez is spot-on. Besides, just because Wisconsin and Michigan State have had some good games for three or so years doesn’t mean the schools now have an iconic rivalry that must happen annually.

Notre Dame A.D. Jack Swarbrick explains why the Irish dropped Michigan. It makes sense. I just hope this story is dead.

“‘Need’ or ‘want’ is the choice,” Hollis said at the recent Big Ten meetings. “We want to have the Irish in our future because of the rivalry. It kind of comes down to, as you go through the pecking order, the Big Ten conference is No. 1 … no matter what opponent that is within the league. … I think the Notre Dame game is a cool, hip game that builds off tradition. That’s one that will be important to continue. I think we want them. I’m not sure, if you want to use the term, we ‘need’ them.”

Again, as I said before, the Big Ten should just divorce itself from all Notre Dame games. Hey, if Nebraska-Oklahoma and Texas-Texas A&M can end, I think Michigan State-Notre Dame can end.

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Count Big Ten A.Ds and commissioner Jim Delany among those who would like to see teams have to go 7-5 to qualify for a bowl. But they realize that standard won’t be adopted nationally. So, 6-6 will remain the bar to play in the postseason. It’s drab, average teams like that which diminish a bowl system that already is pretty much insignificant—save for a handful of the games. Does the world really need, say, 6-6 Western Kentucky playing 6-6 UTEP in the New Orleans Bowl on a Tuesday in mid-December? What is the point?

But don’t you think if Purdue REALLY wanted this to happen, it could make it happen?

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It wasn’t long ago when Indiana was oversigned by three players. Well, zing, bang, boom … the Hoosiers are at the limit of 13 players with the addition of Arizona State transfer Evan Gordon, younger brother of Hoosiers one-and-done icon Eric Gordon.

And, like Indiana, Purdue will have a young team next season. Check it out: With the exceptions of Peck, senior-to-be guard Terone Johnson and senior-to-be post player Travis Carroll, every other scholarship player for the Boilermakers will have freshman or sophomore eligibility. Peck’s experience and leadership will help this youthful roster.

My take: This could be interesting. I wonder who else may be coming? Next year is a big season for Matt Painter. He needs to fill up Mackey Arena and win a lot of games.

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About Tom Dienhart

BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men’s basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

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